Advice and tools for helping your kids with homework

Homework time is a crucial time between parent and child, as you have the opportunity as a parent to create a learning environment and experience that fosters a positive experience for your child. Though it can be stressful at times, helping your kids with school assignments shows your unwavering support for them and also offers a significant bonding opportunity.

How to help your children with homework without ‘over-helping’

There is a fine line between helping/supporting and over-helping, so it is important to establish a healthy learning environment that works for everyone from the start (and doesn’t end in you taking over school projects or homework assignments for your child!).

To help your children with homework without ‘over-helping’, here are a few helpful tips:

• First, have your child fully explain what their schoolwork is. Often times schools will send students home with a homework binder or daybook, so go through this together first. Having your child be fully engaged and aware of what their responsibilities are is helpful for them to be aware of the workload, as well as for you to know what expectations are.
• Next, work with your child to create a productive study environment that will promote concentration. Everyone learns differently, so explore with your child to see what works best for their learning style. This could mean needing a quiet space, working in the kitchen with friends or siblings, talking through problems, or working through assignments alone and going over it together afterwards.
• Now that you have set up a positive and encouraging learning environment, it is up to you as the parent to set your own boundaries! Homework is there to help your kids learn, so you have to let them learn both the lesson at hand and the responsibility of completing tasks on time. No matter how hard you want to jump in and ‘just give them a little nudge’, remember this is your child’s homework! You are there to support them, not to do it for them.  
• Important: if and when you do see areas that your child needs more support in or areas that they really excel in, let your child’s teacher know! That is really helpful information for teachers to know.

Helpful resources to support homework time

Your child’s learning experience starts at home with you, even before they start going to school. So here are some helpful resources that you can use to continue to supplement their learning with continued support and experiences at home.

Here are a few helpful resources:

Books

Reading is particularly helpful for all avenues of learning. Whether they are educational books or books that fuel the imagination, reading enhances your child’s vocabulary, comprehension skills, and more. For an even greater boost, delve into story time and share what you are reading with your child and ask them to do the same so they get excited to share and see you reading, as well.

Mobile apps

Educational apps make it easy for your child to hop on the app during dedicated learning time or really whenever they have free time for some gamified learning via technology. If your child is learning a foreign language, for example Babbel is a great support tool, it is very interactive and can really help your child easily pick up new vocabulary. Many kids are also more inclined to use and learn via technology apps, as they are excited to simply have technology time and it mixes up their learning environment.

Flashcards, highlighters, etc.

Many visual learners find that writing down what they learn, highlighting key points and using flashcards help them learn and retain information. So help your child find what helps them learn.

What have you found to be helpful for helping your kids with homework?

“written in collaboration with Mary Davis”